2/14/09 – 2/21/09

Chimulco Aquatic Park is located next to a lake in the small village of Villa Corona which lies southwest of the city of Guadalajara.  This large park draws its water from underlying hot springs, filling and draining various pools each day.  There is also a campground on the grounds of the park which offers 50+ spots with full hookups, bathrooms and a nice clubhouse for the residents.  The second generation of owners, two brothers, Lalo and Ephraim, are very friendly and accommodating and solicit input on the campground and the other facilities.  When we arrived at the park, the owners were throwing a Valentine’s Day party for the campground guests, complete with free food and beer.  Everyone was super friendly and the campers partied late into the night – long after we were in bed.  However, for the most part we have found this campground to be very quiet and peaceful, especially after dark. 

Our little van among the big rigs

The lake on the edge of the campground

A small boat launch

While we thoroughly enjoyed our stay at this campground we were irritated by the shower conditions and the internet connection – the two items we value most when paying for accommodations.  The bathrooms and showers could use an update and a thorough cleaning, with tepid water, slow-moving drains and a fair amount of mosquitoes.  After giving some feedback to the owners they started working on this issue so hopefully the bathroom conditions will improve. The park has free wi-fi available near the office although we were only able to connect on two of the seven days due to IP address conflicts.  We found this issue quite frustrating - I had them reset the router in order for us and others to connect but the problems soon returned in a day or so.

The water park is full of amenities for young and old, the highlight of which are the “toboganes”. There are three water slides available, one long winding chute, a smaller novice version, and a straight, high speed stone track which is my personal favorite. These slides are open all day on the weekends but only for short periods on weekday afternoons. The facility is quite large with three main pools, a hydro-massage pool, a lazy river and even a splash factory which dumps huge volumes of water on eagerly waiting ninos.  There is a separate pool which is filled each week night from seven until ten for the exclusive use of campground guests.

One of the larger pools with the Splash Factory in the background

The "toboganes" aka the water slides

The town of Villa Corona is one of our favorites encountered thus far and is just a short walk from Chimulco. Like most other places we have been, Sunday night is a popular evening in the town square - complete with food vendors, an accomplished brass band, and local folks dancing and mingling. With a population of approximately 24,000, Villa Corona has all the necessary commercial services but seems small when one wanders the cobblestone streets among the extremely friendly and courteous locals. Tuesdays are market days in Villa Corona which brings everything from produce to baked goods to blue jeans to a main street in town. Other days various vendors are assembled along the streets in the vicinity of the central square selling fresh produce and baked goods.  Small shops are also abundant and take care of most needs.

Evenings are relatively quiet, with most restaurants apparently closing by 7:00 pm. However they are not void of activity. One evening we were graced with a dancing horse exhibition/training session in the town square and there usually seems to be several taco stands and smaller street vendors in evidence. Prices in this town are extremely inexpensive, with tacos selling for only 5 pesos! Our favorite taco stand, and the one most convenient to the park, is located just on the south side of Mex 80 and west of the Pemex Station. The owner is a delightful man whose entire family assists with the business.

Overall we loved our stay in both Chimulco and Villa Corona.  The location is terrific with day trips available to Tequila, Guadalajara, Tlaquepaque and beyond.  Soaking in the hot pools of the water park is both relaxing and therapeutic but the excitement of the slides and other amenities keeps it interesting.  The campground owners and snowbird residents couldn’t have been nicer and we enjoyed all our encounters there and in Villa Corona which is our favorite small town so far.  Fantastico!